Learning From The Path Of The Righteous

Stories about Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook from R' Aviner's blog:

Visits to the Brisker Rav

Our Rabbi would go to hear the Divrei Torah of the Brisker Rav, Ha-Griz - Ha-Rav Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, and when he was there, the "zealots" (extreme anti-Zionists) would insult him. When Ha-Rav Shabatai Shmueli, the Yeshiva's secretary, heard about this, he was shaken and turned to our Rabbi to stop going there. Ha-Rav Avraham Shapira also attempted to convince our Rabbi to stop, but he wanted to hear Divrei Torah from Ha-Griz. Ha-Rav Shmueli and Ha-Rav Shapira requested that Reb Aryeh Levin - who frequented there – speak with our Rabbi. He agreed and said to him: "Reb Tzvi Yehudah, you must cease going there. It does not bring honor to the Torah. It is also insulting to Maran Ha-Rav ztz"l." Our Rabbi tried to justify continuing the visits by saying that it does not affect him, and Ha-Griz is one of the great Rabbis of the generation etc., but Reb Aryeh interrupted him and said harsh thing about the "zealots," even though there was a great lost in not hearing Ha-Griz. When our Rabbi heard this from the mouth of Reb Aryeh, he did not return (It was quite rare for Reb Aryeh to speak this way since he had incredible patience and was able to endure anything. If our Rabbi had heard insults about Maran Ha-Rav Kook he would not have remained quiet).


Ha-Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv and Maran Ha-Rav's Honor

Ha-Rav Yosef Buxbaum, the editor of the journal "Moriah,” had a very close relationship with our Rabbi, following the lead of his Rav, Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. Our Rabbi would give him letters which great Rabbis wrote to Maran Ha-Rav Kook in order to publish them in "Moriah." Ha-Rav Buxbaum would often visit our Rabbi. And when a baby boy was born to him, he asked our Rabbi to serve as the cohain at the Pidyon Ha-Ben.
It once happened that one of the editors of the "Otzar Mefarshei Ha-Talmud" (Treasury of Talmudic Commentators) included a ruling of Maran Ha-Rav Kook, but another editor removed it. Ha-Rav Buxbaum asked him why he removed the ruling: was it because he raised a difficultly with it and it required further study? He answered: "I didn't even look into the issue. I just think that a ruling of Ha-Rav Kook is not appropriate for 'Otzar Mefarsehi Ha-Talmud.'" Ha-Rav Buxbaum said to him: "From this moment, you are fired!" The editor did not accept his decision, and they went to Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. Ha-Rav Elyashiv was shocked and said to the editor: "Did you know Ha-Rav Kook?! You should know – he was holy. He did not belong to our generation, and in his generation, they did not properly understand him. Reb Yosef was certainly permitted to fire you. I would have done the same thing." (Ha-Rav Yosef Buxbaum ztz"l)


Once at the beginning of our Rabbi's class, a small bug jumped on to his book. On account of his righteousness, he did not want to hurt it, did not begin the class and stared at it. He pointed out that it is interesting that something so small has a will and can decide whether to move forwards or backwards. We not only have the concept of "How great are Your works, Hashem" (Tehillim 104:24) but also "How minute are Your works, Hashem." And he mentioned how Rabbi Yochanan was amazed by an ant (Chullin 63a and see Kol Yehudah on Sefer Ha-Kuzari 1, 68b). The class was therefore delayed. One of our Rabbi's students, a Rabbi and Torah scholar, who was sitting next to him, seeing the continued delay, took the book and removed the bug by blowing on it. Our Rabbi did not respond or say anything, and began the class.

"Messiah"

A student related: "During one of the years when the production of Handel’s “Messiah” (a Christian creation) was playing in concert in 'Binyanei Ha-Umah' (a building in Yerushalayim which hosts gatherings, shows, conferences, etc...), our Rabbi tried to have the concert canceled [largely because it was being held in a public building]. Our Rabbi requested that I go with him to the house of Ha-Rav David Cohain – Ha-Nazir - since there was a telephone was there, and connect him to Chaim Moshe Shapira and Yosef Burg, who were members of the Knesset from the National-Religious Party. Our Rabbi asked them to work to cancel the concert, and their answer was that it is impossible to cancel this event. Our Rabbi was not satisfied and was concerned enough to send students who would disrupt the concert, and this is what indeed happened. After the concert-goers dispersed, however, the protesters from the Yeshiva and the police officers remained in the hall. The officers asked the protests to leave the hall: 'The show is over.' But one of the students arose and lectured them about the grave act which occurred in this building and they therefore would not leave the building. When the officers' patience ran out, they took three of the yeshiva students to prison, and this caused the rest of them to leave the place. The next day they turned to our Rabbi and asked him to work to free those who were incarcerated. The answer of our Rabbi was: 'I do not understand why they did not disperse according to the police's request after the concert ended, since we are not protesting against the police officers!'"

Our Rabbi praised the students who staged a protest at the time of the concert of "Messiah" and particularly the student who jumped onto the stage and told those attending how terrible this event was. He related that the police commander told him afterwards: "Your young men are gold, and the one who got up on the stage deserves a medal."

 

The Holocaust

 

Our Rabbi was unable to mention the word "Holocaust" or to talk about the subject without shedding tears. He felt the great loss every time anew, even years after the Holocaust. (Yosi Bitan)

Students asked our Rabbi: The Chief Rabbinate of Israel established the 10th of Tevet as a remembrance of the Holocaust to recite Kaddish for the Kedoshim (holy ones) who perished in the Holocaust, but their date of death is unknown. If so, why did the Government of Israel establish the 27th of Nisan as Yom Ha-Shoah? Our Rabbi responded: One should mourn for the Holocaust every day.

A student who was caring for our Rabbi once sat next to his bed while he slept. Our Rabbi woke up in the middle of the night, sat on his bed and began to sob. The student asked him: "Why is Ha-Rav crying?" Our Rabbi answered: "I dreamt about the Telz Yeshiva which was destroyed in the Holocaust." The student asked: "But Ha-Rav always speaks about the Torah of the Land of Israel…?" Our Rabbi sobbed even harder and said: "What do you know? Where you in Telz? Did you see the greatness and power of Torah?!" Our Rabbi cried until he finally asked for a pen and paper, and he wrote a eulogy for the Telz Yeshiva. He then calmed down and went back to sleep. (Ha-Rav Eli Horvitz hy"d in Me-Emek Chevron, 2 Elul 5762, p. 94)

At times he said: You don’t know Lithuania and the other cities, the yeshivot and the Torah giants that were destroyed.

Once when our Rabbi mentioned the Holocaust he burst out in tears: "And what did it matter to the wicked one that Rabbi Menachem Zemba was alive?! And that Rabbi Hillel Zeitlin was alive?! (Gadol Shimusha pg. 46)

 

Food

 

Seudat Mitzvah

A student related: Our Rabbi was invited to a Seudat Mitzvah with my family. He responded affirmatively and came to participate in it. After they finished serving the main course, the hostess stood up and asked: "Would anyone like more?" No one responded, but our Rabbi spoke up and said: "Please, I would like more." After the hostess joyously served Ha-Rav, and they gave Divrei Torah, the hostess again asked if anyone would like more. Again, no one responded to her proposal, and again our Rabbi spoke up and said: "If it is possible, please, I am interested..." We were somewhat confused, we could not understand how Ha-Rav could eat this amount. Ha-Gaon Rabbi Shalom Natan Ra’anan (Ha-Rav's brother-in-law) stood up, came over to me and whispered to me: "Please tell the hostess not to propose an additional portion, since if she asks ten times, Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah will not refuse. For a Seudat Mitzvah, he will never refuse..." (From the book "Berito Le-hodi’am" of Rav Yitzchak Dadon, p. 115)

At a Seudat Mitzvah, such as a Brit Milah, our Rabbi would eat with as quickly as he could, because then there is a mitzvah to eat.

It once happened that students found his sister, Ha-Rabbanit Bayta Miriam, crying: "Yesterday Reb Tzvi Yehudah participated in three Seudot Mitzvah in which he ate meat, now he will fast for a week!"
A student asked after a Seudat Mitzvah: "From where do you get the strength to eat so much?" Our Rabbi replied: "We receive the strength from the mitzvah."

Meal-time etiquette

The meal time was a great class for his students. Our Rabbi did not bend over the soup as most people do. He would bring the spoon up to himself while sitting in an upright position, since a person does not need to bend to the food, but conversely, to raise the food up to him.

Our Rabbi was very particular not to begin eating as along as all of those present had not received their food.
When our Rabbi sat down to eat, and another person sat with him, he was also concerned that he would eat.

When a married couple ate at his table, he would give the man "a double portion" and point out with a smile: "You are obligated to provide her food!" And sometimes we even acted this way with an engaged couple, and he would say to the young man: "You will soon be obligated to provide her food..."


Our Rabbi and his stringencies regarding eating
 

The "Dvar Avraham" - Ha-Rav Ha-Gaon Rabbi Avraham Dov Ber Shapira of Kovno - participated in a gathering of "Agudat Yisrael," and since our Rabbi had a great desire to meet him, he came to the hotel where he was staying. They had a lengthy conversation, but when it came time for lunch, our Rabbi moved to the side to eat bread and honey. This is how he acted during his travels in order to avoid kashrut problems [since any additional ingredients in honey ruin its taste and are noticeable]. The "Divrei Avraham" invited him a few times to join the others, but he declined, and then the "Divrei Avraham" understood: "His honor simply has special stringencies regarding eating." Our Rabbi then resolved: "My thought was not to act this way in the presence of a great man" (See Ketubot 63a where Ben Kalba Shavua vowed that his daughter would not benefit from his property after she became engaged to the unlearned Rabbi Akiva. He later wanted to annul his vow and heard that a rabbi had come to town. The Rabbi asked him, "Did you intend to make your vow even in the case that he would be a great man?" Ben Kalba Shavua said, "No, even if he had learned a little I would not have vowed." Rabbi Akiva then revealed to him that he was his son-in-law). Our Rabbi then established three general rules for himself: 1. All of his special practices regarding eating would be nullified in the presence of a great man who asked him to eat. 2. And similarly, when he was a guest of other people. 3. And even when people were his guests.

 

During the weekdays our Rabbi would eat minimal amounts: An olive-size piece of bread or a baked good and a cup of tea. It was difficult to understand from where the strength flowed for all of the classes which he gave and for all of the lengthy discussions with students and other people who would arrive early at his door.

 

It once happened that a student came to take counsel with our Rabbi who was sitting in the library after morning prayers. Our Rabbi said to him: "You already ate morning bread?" The student responded: "I’ll eat afterwards." Our Rabbi said: "No, morning bread comes first, as is written in the Gemara" (Baba Metzia 107b). The student asked: "And what about the honorable Rav himself?!" Our Rabbi responded: "Blessed is Hashem, I am not yet enslaved to the routine of eating."

 

Our Rabbi had the custom to fast on his father's yahrtzeit. After one yahrtzeit, the students arrived for a class a few hours after dark and our Rabbi still had not davened ma'ariv since he was waiting for a minyan and he had not eaten. They davened and they suggested to our Rabbi that he eat before the class since he had not eaten anything all day. Our Rabbi rejected the idea: I am not enslaved to food. They said: Then only a cup of tea? He again completely rejected the idea: I am not enslaved to food! None of the pleas helped, and the class went on as usual into the night.